This is first part of our Straight Talk Galaxy S5 problems troubleshooting series and judging from the number of emails we received, we may be publishing more support articles for this specific variant or any other variants that were ported over to Straight Talk network.
Straight Talk has a tech support hotline you can call and online forums you can post your concerns to and we don’t seek, in any way, to compete with the support the company is offering its subscribers. However, this is our way of providing support to our readers who emailed us asking for help. We are not affiliated with the company and apparently, we can’t answer all questions especially network-related ones. But, at least, we do our best to help our readers and we take time reading about the issues we receive.
If you are a Galaxy S5 owner under ST’s network or any other provider, feel free to contact us at mailbag@thedroidguy.com and we will help you find solutions to your problems, or browse through our Galaxy S5 Troubleshooting page. Just don’t forget to include all necessary details so that we can easily and accurately assess your concerns. We also have Facebook and Google+ pages that we use to help our readers, feel free to post your issues there.
Click on a link below to jump to a specific problem:
Can’t Browse the Web After the Port
Can’t Make Calls Abroad
Can’t Send/Receive Texts and Calls
Keeps Rebooting, Can’t Send MMS
Can’t Send Text Messages
Very Slow in Loading Web Pages
Can’t Connect to the Internet
Randomly Shuts Down
Straight Talk Services Failed
Unfortunately, Settings has Stopped
Straight Talk Galaxy S5 Can’t Browse the Web After the Port
Problem: Hello guys, I have a Galaxy S5 from other service provider and I transferred over to Straight Talk network. My issue started after I ported my phone number to Straight Talk network. In the first few days my internet is fine, I can download and browse the web. But recently, I cannot anymore browse the web and download. I called the tech support and they change the APN Settings, in the first few hours my internet is working fine and all of a sudden I cannot again use my data. I hate calling the tech support because they cannot fix the issue. I hope guys you can help me with my issue. Thank you! — Linda
Troubleshooting: Hi Linda, believe me when I say that Straight Talk’s tech support have all the tools needed to fix all possible problems in your phone. But the question is, are they willing to stay with you on the phone until the issue is addressed? Honestly, I have no idea how the phone is setup or what your previous provider was but I’m sure that the phone keeps records of settings that were previously used and there are times when it tries to use them because they are still in the cache.
You know, I can go all day yapping about how things could go wrong inside the phone but what I want you to do to fix this problem is to wipe the cache partition and format the data partition before entering new Straight Talk settings in your phone. That said, backup everything in your phone especially data that were saved in the phone’s internal storage and follow these procedures in order:
Wipe Cache Partition
Turn off the device.
Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key.
When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
Press the Volume Down key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
Press the Power key to select.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.
Perform Full Hard Reset
Turn off the device.
Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key.
When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
Press Power button to select.
Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.
After wiping the cache partition and doing the hard reset, call Straight Talk’s hotline again and this time, instead of telling the rep you got issues with your phone, immediately ask for the correct APN Settings for your phone and let the rep guide you in adding them to your phone. Once finished, you should be able to use mobile data. Otherwise, their network is the problem and not your phone.
Straight Talk Galaxy S5 Can’t Make Calls Abroad
Problem: Hi guys, I have a Galaxy S5 and I bought it at Walmart. Last week, I subscribed on Straight Talk’s $60 unlimited promo, some time it’s ok but most of the time I cannot make a call outside United States. Is there any problem with my phone or in the network? I hope you can help me with my problem and thank you! -Ted
Troubleshooting: Hey Ted. While Straight Talk offers unlimited plans and text and calls abroad, there are limitations. I am pretty sure this is a network issue and you need to call the hotline and inquire about it as the company’s reps can answer more of your questions especially when it comes to their plans and coverage.
Straight Talk Galaxy S5 Can’t Send/Receive Texts and Calls
Problem: Hi droid guy, I have an issue with Galaxy S5. Last two days ago my phone is working fine, I can browse the internet, make call and send text and picture messages. But on the next day my phone has no service, I already contacted the tech support and the tech guy told me to wait for 24 hours because there’s an outage in my area. After a day my phone still has no service. I don’t know If there’s something wrong with my phone or in Straight Talk? I’ll wait for any advice from you guys I hope my issue is not serious. Thank You! — Hal
Related Problem: Hi guys, my phone is Galaxy S5 from other service provider and I brought it to Straight Talk network. During my first week in Straight Talk my phone is properly working I can make a call, send a text message and browse the web. However, for the past 3 days my phone has no service. I called straight Talk for help but they’re telling me to wait for 24 hours. After 24 hours my phone still have no service I cannot make a call and send a text and picture messages. I don’t know what is the problem of my phone. I hope you can help me guys with my problem.– Ben
Troubleshooting: The tech guys will advice you to wait for 24 hours because they, too, don’t know how to figure out the issue. Hal, it’s time you called the hotline again and tell the rep that you were advised to wait for 24 hours and that time already elapsed with your problem unresolved.
Let the rep check your account and check their network. If there is no problem with your account and the rep tells you that he needs to conduct troubleshooting on your device again, just allow him/her. This is a possible SIM card issue and they will not be able to send you a replacement SIM card if you refused to do a few of their SOPs.
The SIM card may arrive 3-5 days depending on your area but wait for it and once you receive it, call the hotline again and have them provision or activate the SIM card on their end.
Straight Talk Galaxy S5 Keeps Rebooting, Can’t Send MMS
Problem: Hi guys, my phone is Samsung Galaxy S5, I bought it from Walmart last 7 months ago. I don’t have issues during my first 6 months, but lately I noticed that my phone is keep on rebooting and I cannot send and received picture messages. I already remove the battery and wait for a minute but the issue is still the same. I contacted the tech support and they cannot fix the problem. Please help me with my problem, I’ll wait for your reply and thank you guys! — Liz
Troubleshooting: Hi Liz. It isn’t clear whether the problem is with the hardware, the firmware or just with an app. So, we will take the safest route to troubleshoot this problem. I am more concerned about the random reboots rather than the issue with sending/receiving MMS. Let’s fix the reboots first and the rest will follow. The first thing I want you to do is boot your phone in safe mode:
Turn the device off.
Press and hold the Power key.
When ‘Samsung Galaxy S5′ appears on the screen, release the Power key.
Immediately after releasing the Power key, press and hold the Volume down key.
Continue to hold the Volume down key until the device finishes restarting.
Safe mode will display in the bottom left corner of the screen.
Release the Volume down key when you see Safe Mode.
While the phone is in safe mode, observe closely if it still reboots randomly. If so, then we can take third-party apps out of the picture and focus more on the firmware and pre-installed apps. The next thing to do is wipe the cache partition just in case some of the caches are corrupt and are causing conflicts with the system.
Turn off the device.
Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key.
When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
Press the Volume Down key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
Press the Power key to select.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.
In cases like the phone doesn’t reboot in safe mode and if wiping the cache partition didn’t fix the problem, it is imperative that you either perform factory reset or full hard reset.
If you were able to fix the random reboots, call Straight Talk hotline and ask for the correct APN Settings for your phone. That should fix the MMS issue you’re having.
Can’t Send Text Messages on Straight Talk Galaxy S5
Problem: Hello droid guy, my phone is Samsung Galaxy S5, I bought it on Straight Talk last month. In the first three weeks my phone is working fine, I can simply make a call and send a text messages. But just this week, my phone cannot anymore send a text message but I can make a call. I don’t have problems with my plan with Straight Talk because I avail their unlimited promo right after I bought the phone from them. I turned Off and On my phone several times but there’s no use. The tech support cannot fix the issue because they’re asking for another phone where they can call and this is the only phone that I have right now. I hope you can help me with my issue. — April
Troubleshooting: Hello April. If it’s the first time this problem happened, then it is probably just a temporary network issue. Apparently, we can’t answer any network-related questions, except information that are already known to the public, so I suggest you call Straight Talk’s tech support and inquire about it.
However, if this issue already happened more than once and at almost the same time of the month, then it’s an account-related issue. I understand you subscribed for an unlimited plan but there’s no guarantee everything will go smooth. If, by any chance, you’re suspecting it’s a problem with the phone (which we can’t pinpoint where the issue lies), then the best way to go about it is to give the phone a fresh start by performing factory reset (don’t forget to backup all your data first). Also, the reason why the reps are asking for a different phone to call is because they want to troubleshoot on your device and it might probably reach the point where they need to reset the phone.
Straight Talk Galaxy S5 Very Slow in Loading Web Pages
Problem: Hello guys, I have an issue with my Galaxy S5, I just bought my phone last week at Walmart. I don’t know if my phone has a problem or with the network. By the way, my phone runs slow, every time I browse the web it takes a few minutes to load the site. And there’s an instance that my phone hangs-up and I turned it off and on my phone to back to normal. I’ll wait for your advice and more power! — Joy
Troubleshooting: Hi Joy. One of the reasons of slow browsing issue is unstable or slow internet connection. I am not sure what connection you’re using but just in case you’re connected to the internet through mobile data, then it’s probably a network issue. Call Straight Talk and inquire about the status of your account or if there’s a coverage issue in your area.
There’s also a possibility that you’ve already reached the cap, which I believe is 5GB per billing cycle. About this one, it totally depends on your internet usage habit. If you often stream videos from any sites, it is more likely that the reason why you’re experiencing slow browsing is because your internet connection speed has been throttled down. There’s no fix to this except wait for your billing cycle to end or purchase another unlimited plan from Walmart or through a credit card.
However, if the slow browsing issue was caused by the random hang ups or freezes, then it’s neither the network or your account that has an issue. It’s the phone itself that needs to be checked and more often, random hang ups are caused by third-party apps that have gone rogue or crash. I suggest you boot the phone in safe mode and to see if the problem still happens. If not, then find the app that’s causing the problem and uninstall it. Begin with apps that you recently installed.
Straight Talk Galaxy S5 Can’t Connect to the Internet
Problem: Hi droid guys, I have a Samsung Galaxy S5 from eBay and I brought it to Straight Talk. For almost 2 months my internet is not working and I already contacted the tech support but they cannot fix the issue. I spent 4-5 hours talking to their tech guy but the issue is still the same. I changed the APN settings and factory reset the phone but still no use. I need your help guys and more power! — Casey
Troubleshooting: Hey Casey. I’m really sorry you’re having this problem. My question is, have you tried connecting this phone to the internet via mobile data network (not necessarily on Straight Talk network)? If your answer is yes, then it’s not your phone’s fault but Straight Talk’s. I’m not sure what the tech guys did to your phone if they actually attempted to fix the problem. But for their satisfaction, backup all your data and perform full hard reset (via recovery mode) to reformat the data partition. After that, call tech support and ask for correct APN settings. Instead of writing it down, ask the rep to send the APN directly to your phone (yes, they can do that) to make sure no errors are made. Once you have the APN, set it up on your phone and if you’re sure it’s all correct but the internet still won’t work, it’s a possible SIM card issue. Request a SIM card replacement. The new SIM card may arrive 3-5 days depending on how far your area is.
Straight Talk Galaxy S5 Randomly Shuts Down
Problem: Hi droid guys, I bought a Samsung Galaxy S5 at Walmart last 2 months ago and subscribed on Straight Talk’s unlimited promo. In the first month my phone is doing great, I can make a call send a picture and text messages to my friends. However, just this week my phone keeps on shutting down without a reason. I thought my battery is defective so I charged my phone, but after a few hours of charging my phone is doing the same. I contacted the tech support and spent hours talking to the tech guy but the issue of my phone is still the same. I don’t know what’s the issue of my phone. Please help me guys, I’ll wait for any advice.– Rod
Troubleshooting: There is a lot of reasons why the phone randomly shuts down. Determining the cause is very important in order fix the problem. But the thing is, we really can’t pinpoint if it’s just an app that causes this, a firmware glitch, or one of the pre-installed apps has gone rogue causing conflicts in the system. I’ve outlined a simple troubleshooting guide for you to follow:
First and foremost, boot the phone in safe mode.
Observe closely to see if the phone still randomly shuts down.
If so, backup all your data if possible.
Perform factory reset.
If the phone didn’t shut down in safe mode, find the app that’s causing the problem and uninstall it.
In case the phone still shuts down after the reset, it’s time you troubleshoot the hardware.
Try using a different battery if possible. If the phone still shuts down after that, it’s time you sent it for repair.
Straight Talk Services Failed on Galaxy S5
Problem: Hi guys, I have an issue with my phone, I don’t know if it’s on the phone or with the network. Yesterday I purchased $60 plan from straight talk. In the first 2 hours I can make a call. But in the next few hours I cannot anymore make calls and send a text messages. I don’t want to call the tech support because they’ll keep on transferring my call. Any suggestions is a huge help for me. — Lorie
Troubleshooting: Hey Lorie. It sounds like the issue with Straight Talk’s system but please do the basic troubleshooting procedure of restarting your phone to see if that would make a difference. If not, try calling Straight Talk’s hotline. I’m sure the company’s reps have answers to your questions as it is probably a network-side issue. I’m sorry, we really can’t help you with it because it concerns your provider’s services.
Straight Talk Galaxy S5 Settings has Stopped Error
Problem: Hi guys. I have a Galaxy S5 that I purchased from T-Mobile but just yesterday, I ported my number over to Straight Talk. I think there was an update that I duly downloaded and installed. After I hang up with the rep, the phone started showing the error message “Unfortunately, Settings has stopped.” When it does this, the phone totally freezes and usable. I have to remove the battery and restart it and then after several minutes, the message pops up again. I just want this error to go away. Is it because I ported my number over or it’s a phone thing?
Troubleshooting: Porting your number over cannot make the Settings service to crash. I’m thinking that the recent update may have messed up or corrupted your phone’s settings data, thus, creating conflicts in the system. Since Android cannot resolve the conflict, the Settings service crashes. The first troubleshooting I advice you to do is wiping the cache partition.
Turn off the device.
Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key.
When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
Press the Volume Down key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
Press the Power key to select.
When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.
If wiping the cache partition can’t fix the problem, proceed with hard reset.
Turn off the device.
Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, and Power key.
When the phone vibrates, release the Power key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key.
When the Android System Recovery screen appears, release the Volume Up and Home keys.
Press the Volume down key several times key to highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset.’
Press Power button to select.
Press the Volume down key until ‘Yes — delete all user data’ is highlighted.
Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
When the master reset is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.
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